The Heart Speaks

Swami Vishwananda
When your mind is quiet you can hear the heart talking to you. So keep practicing. I always say it, and I will keep saying it. Maybe every time you come for Darshan you will hear the same thing. As long as you do not practice listening to the heart properly, I will keep saying it; I will bore you with it. When you attain the greatness of love that you have in your heart, you will know it is even much more beautiful than this nature that you see on the outside.

I would love all of you to reach Divinity. I want all of you to realise the love of God that is inside you. And not only that, I want all of you to become an instrument of this love and share it around. Bring this love to everybody. You don’t need to go and hug the person or whatever to share the love of God. Just by the reflection of your face, this light will be passed on wherever you go.

And this light will be continuously with you.

Even Raja Yogi, Mahavatar Babaji, Walks Around With People, With Disciples

Swami Vishwananda with Paramahamsa Nithyananda
Bathing Murtis in Sacred Ganges River Water from India
Kumba Mela in America 2007















Swami Vishwananda offers a substitute for meditation:
I met a yogi in India who is about two hundred years old; even more than that. Of course, among all the yogis, the Raja Yogi, Mahavatar Babaji is more than five thousand years old. Raja Yogi means the king of all yogis. But even Mahavatar Babaji walks around with people, with disciples [does not meditate all the time].

Meditation is very good. Once you start the spiritual path, the first thing you are told is to sit down and meditate. But you can’t meditate twenty-four hours a day. . . So, we can’t meditate all the time, especially here in the West. But there is a substitute for meditation and that is the thought. The mind that God has placed in humans is very powerful. You can create or you can destroy with it. It’s up to each one of you to control the thoughts. So the first thing and the best thing in spirituality that you can do is to control the thought... First, we have to change the negative thoughts about ourselves and then we can change the thoughts towards other people. As long as we judge ourselves, we only look at the negative parts of our own self.

Thought is very easy to control. You don’t need to sit down to control it. When the thought is passing through your mind, you know about the thought. You know whether it is positive or negative. So if it is positive, it will be constructive, then feed it and let it grow! But when the thought is negative, do not to feed it. Then you say to yourself, “This is not me.” And you let go of the negative thought.

When you let go of the negative thoughts, you will see how beautiful your own life is and how great this life is that God has given us. Also your meditation will be easier. The powerful thoughts are the positive energy in human beings. Through thoughts, whatever you wish for yourself, whatever you think about, you will receive it.

Meditating Is Essential for Your Remembered Enlightenment

Swami Vishwananda: You may choose to become committed to sitting for an hour or more every day. In this time just be with your own Self and enjoy it. Enjoy being with your Self. . . and Talk . . . and you will see that deep inside there will be a voice coming out. And for each thing that you ask, you will receive an answer.

And then . . . ...
Through charity, through service and through love, many people have experienced so much. And if you really want to experience the same thing, open up your heart and let Jesus work through you; let Krishna work through you; let God work through you. Through that you will realize His Love. You will realize that He is always with you. You will know how much He Loves you and how much you can love.

And OM Healing—Meditation . . .
Mahavatar Babaji transmitted to Swami Vishwananda’s OM Healing—Meditation Groups recently: Fear is one of the greatest stumbling blocks on the path of remembered enlightenment. Our OM Healing Technique frees the soul to radiate from the heart outward into the physical world. Within the OM Healing Circles, one may literally transcend fear. Fear dissipates through the sound that OM generates. In the OM Healing Circles, participants become aware of dropping layers of armor piled on through fear accumulated in many lifetimes.

Gurudev Swami Vishwananda says: Very often, when I talk about meditation, people get stressed and nervous about what is awaiting them. You see, to come into contact with this love and to feel this Divine Love, one has to be calm. If one is not calm, it is quite difficult to feel it. Just remove all the pressure from your shoulders and travel inwardly, calmly.

Your Cosmic Mind Key to Happiness and Joy

Two galaxies merging: Represents your cosmic mind merging with your doubts . . . . your opportunity to create faith, happiness and joy












Swami Vishwananda: Like I always say, have faith in your own Self. Have faith that what you are hearing within your heart is true. So many times you hear your heart, but you doubt it. You ask yourself, “Oh, is this really true or not?” You often have doubt like that. As long as you do not believe in what the Divine wants to show you, you will not advance.

The moment you really have faith in what you feel inside your heart, it will manifest in the outside world. Like I say, God gave man the power to create, to have power over everything. You have within you the willpower of construction that comes from the constructive willpower inside the mind.

Very often we say the mind is something apart, something which is very negative. It is true that very often the mind is negative, but we have within us the power to transform it.

Deep inside . . . .
The inner Cosmic Mind . . . .
Therein lies also the Divine.
That is the point where
We have to use the mind
To achieve the higher state.

As long as man tries to hold onto even one material thing, he will stay on the material level. If you turn inward and focus on the Divine Within [your cosmic mind], the Self, you will feel great happiness and great joy.

But for that you must lock in your faith.

Let a God-Realized Teacher Lead You There

Swami Vishwananda:Once five friends would sit under a tree all day long and talk, and talk, and talk. One hot day, a huge elephant came and stood under the shade of the tree. Although the five men were blind they could hear, and so they heard that something had come. All five men got up and started walking around. They could feel there was something in front of them.

The first blind man said: “What is this? This is a huge wall made of mud. I don’t understand how this wall has moved here.”

The second one was holding the tusk. Feeling it, he said: “Oh, these are two spears made of ivory!”

The third man was holding the tail and said: “No, no, no, you are wrong. This is a rope, a big huge rope!”

The fourth one said as he was holding the trunk of the elephant: “No, no, no, this is nothing of what you have said. This is a snake hanging from the tree!”

Finally the fifth blind man said: “No, you are all wrong! This is the trunk of a tree!”

So among the five blind men there was a big discussion. All were fighting with each other and were proclaiming: “I am right, I am right, I am right!” At that moment a small boy was passing by. Looking at the five blind men and seeing how they were fighting, he said: “What are you quarrelling about? Why are you hanging on this elephant like that?” When the blind men heard the boy say, “an elephant,” they all got shocked, thinking, “an elephant!?'”

The boy went on his way and the first blind man said: “We are not just blind, I think we also are stupid!”

The second one said: “No, no, no, I was confused a bit when I said what I said!”

And the third one said: “I thought it was something like that, but I didn’t say it.”

Then the fourth man said: “Well, we were just talking loudly whatever was passing through our mind!”

Finally the fifth blind man said, “You know, I feel so foolish! We could have just asked someone and it would have been much faster!”

The same thing is true that humanity is blind to God-realization. Only someone who has realized the Divine can actually guide an unrealized person! Only someone who knows the path can actually lead you. Otherwise, you will be like the blind men. You will be touching everything, left and right, and it will not lead you anywhere. So just surrender to a God-realized teacher!

Healing Shivalingam Blessed by Babaji

SHIVA - The Destroyer-Regenerator
Swami Vishwananda Speaks about a certain Shivalingam living on His Temple Altar at Springen: This Shivalingam has been blessed by Mahavatar Babaji. Mahavatar has given it the name Mrityumbageshwar. The meaning is “the one who removes all suffering and inspires people to realize the Divine.” The lingam has been blessed with great healing energy. Whoever pours water over this Shivalingam while reciting eleven times the mrityumjaya mantra can be healed by drinking the water.

Myrityumjaya Mantra:
Tryambakam yajamahe sugamdim pushtivardanamurvu rukiamiva bhandhanat mrityor mukshiya mamritat

This Shivalingam is very special because Mahavatar Babaji has blessed it with the same energy as the jyotirlingams in India. Shiva appeared and manifested eleven lingams in eleven places to leave those places sacred.

When you come here (temple at Springen) you may pour water over the Shivalingam and then keep it in a container and drink it if you are ill, and you will get cured. Have faith in it. When you place flowers on the Shivalingam, you receive the blessings of the Goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth and beauty. Wealth means not only material wealth but also spiritual wealth which is the most important of all. The worship of Lakshmi and the Shivalingam together is in accordance with the Shatras. Mahavatar Babaji has said the water from this lingam can even transmute death and give back life.

Conversing With The Divine

Swami Vishwananda: Sit quietly and start the conversation with the Divine within yourself. It is only in silence that you will be able to control your thoughts. Talk less! People who keep talking and talking are running away. They are scared of seeing the truth and that is why they talk and talk.

If you want to start the conversation with The Divine within yourself, be silent as much as possible. If you want to continue communication with man, then keep talking. Do you know how beautiful it is to listen to The Divine inside yourself? It is the most beautiful thing and I can’t express it in words because words are limited. From the form to the formless and from the name to the nameless, this is The Divine in each of you. It is so beautiful and filling to be always in this place, in this awareness. There you find that you are not separate from The Divine. Whenever you do something there is always a gap, something that is unsatisfied. Whereas, when you have discovered The Reality within you, whatever you do, the satisfaction will be complete!

From Purity of the Heart God Takes Birth

Swami Vishwananda: Once, a man came to visit a certain holy man, St. Sabbas, in his cave while he was meditating. When the saint noticed the visitor, he became very joyful. He happily washed the hands and feet of his visitor. When the saint looked up from washing the feet of the man, he realized that his visitor was Christ Jesus sitting there. The saint felt such love that he started crying profusely and said, “Oh my Lord, You are here!” At that moment, the visitor disappeared.

A certain lady in Switzerland was walking down the street and a beggar asked her to give him some money, and she willingly gave him some money. The woman’s only reaction when the beggar asked for money was to take some money and give it to him. The moment the money reached the hand of the beggar, he disappeared on the spot. Very often she talked about this story.

So like that I can tell you many stories, many facts that many people have told. Through charity, through service, through love they have experienced so much. And if you really want to experience the same thing, open up your heart and let Jesus work through you; let Krishna work through you; let God work through you. Through that you will realize His Love. You will realize that He is always with you. You will know how much He Loves you and how much you can love.

Let us create in our mind and in our heart the same experience that over two thousand years ago Mary and Joseph experienced at the birth of Jesus. We will read [reproduce here] a short passage from the Christian Bible. Imagine and create with your mind, the baby Jesus, and Mary and Joseph.

The Birth of Jesus — Matthew 1:18—25: . . .18: Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise. When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.

19: Then Joseph, her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privately.

20: But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying,” Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21: And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.

22: Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying:

23: “Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.”

24: Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife.

25: And knew her not till she had brought forth her first-born son: and he called his name, Jesus.

Swami Vishwananda continues: Mary, the mother of Christ Jesus was pure, the virgin, and therefore she often is represented by white lilies, which are pure and completely without stain. This symbolizes the purity of the heart. From the purity of the heart God can take birth.

Reaching the Stage of Mukhya Bhakti

Swami Vishwananda with manifested Hiranyangarbha Lingam

Love unconditionally! Love without limit! Love without expecting anything! Love for the sake of Loving. Realize this love is ever-flowing and the more you give, the more you receive. Give for the sake of giving. That is what you are here for.

Note: The Hiranyangarbha Lingam Swami Vishwananda manifested and holds in His hand is Pure Consciousness, Cosmic Divinity, Primal Cause, The Cosmic Mind multiplied by infinity, and the Universal Consciousness.

Mahavatar Babaji: Loving unconditionally is the stage on the Bhakti Marga Path known as Mukhya Bhakti: This is the stage in the sadhaka’s life (spiritual aspirant) where service to the Lord alone matters and the service is its own reward. There are no expectations at this stage. When one reaches Mukhya Bhakti, one “loves for the sake of loving and gives for the sake of giving.” And so it is eternally and forevermore. Yours, in Truth — Babaji

Healing Manifests Through Faith

Master Christ Jesus Healing Man With Palsy

Swami Vishwananda: Whenever you read in any Holy books like the Bible and also the Bhagavad Gita, it is said that Lord Krishna or Lord Jesus went far away in a desert corner or on a high mountain to sit down and talk with God. However, each one of us can also go deep inside of ourselves and raise the vibration in our self, reach to the higher level, and open to the consciousness of God. Let the light flow through you and become the Self and realize it; and know that you are the Self, and that the Self is acting for you. And when the Self is acting for you, for sure everything will be perfect. There is no doubt of this with the power of trust you have in the mind.

[Picture below is of Swami Vishwananda at Darshan]

Swami Vishwaparthananda (Jyotir) says: "Whenever a sick person comes to Swami Vishwananda for healing, he always tells them that he will pray for them. When a spontaneous healing occurs, he always points out that it is God's work. I have never heard him say that he healed anyone. According to Swami, there is no one who can call himself/herself a healer. I have heard him say of healers that they are only tools in the hands of the Divine." From around the world, Devotees of Swami Vishwananda give testimony that numerous and varied healings have taken place in His presence.

When you have this power of trust, this willpower, then you can create in the mind what you really want! Imagine it. Make it a thought, and project this thought on whatever you want, and say by the power of word, “I want that!” See what happens! See what Jesus did when some people came and said, “This person is ill. Can you please heal him?” What did he answer? He didn’t say much. He just said, “Be healed!” The person did heal because in his consciousness, Jesus was always with the Divine, always with the Father. He didn’t have any doubt in his own word; he didn’t doubt himself. He didn’t say, “OK, let me heal.” With strong conviction, he said, “Be healed!” But it’s also true that the person has to have faith in Jesus. --Swami Vishwananda

Gain Through Prayer and Sadhana

Swami Vishwananda, Mother Mary and Baby Christ Jesus
Why do we visit temples? Why do we go to prayers? Know that prayers also are part of Sadhana, spiritual practices. To advance our sadhana is also why we go to pilgrimage places. These places of prayer and pilgrimages are areas where accumulated spiritual energies are gathered in one place.

When you go to prayer or when you go to spiritual places, to holy places, you are always going to gain something. You are profiting from all the prayers and all the vibrations which have been collected in those places. When you go there your sadhana gets amplified. It becomes more intense and more powerful. It’s the same thing when you sit down at the same place every day. When you sit at the same spot at the same time each day, you build up certain energy [as in sitting for meditation]. Likewise, when you chant the same Mantra, the energy gets built up. Don’t think that when you get up from the same place, your meditation, that the energy is dissipated. The energy is always there; it’s solely defined at that place.

Vishnu Temple
Vaishnavite Pilgrimage Place in Badrinath, India
Badrinath temple, sometimes called Badrinarayan temple, is situated along the Alaknanda river, in Badrinath, India. It is considered to be one of the holiest Hindu temples, and is dedicated to god, Vishnu. The temple and town is also of the 108 Divya Desams, holy shrines for Vaishnavites. The temple is open only six months every year (between the end of April and the beginning of November), due to extreme weather conditions in the high Himalayas.

Several murtis are worshipped in the temple. The most important is a one meter tall statue of Vishnu as Lord Badrinarayan, made of black Saligram stone. The statue is considered by many Hindus to be one of eight swayam vyakta keshtras, or self-manifested statues of Vishnu. The murti depicts Vishnu sitting in meditative posture, rather than His far more typical reclining pose. In November each year, when the town of Badrinath is closed, the image is moved to nearby Jyotirmath. [Excerpted from Wikipedia]

Merge With Nature & Become The Divine One

Gurudev Swami Vishwananda Guides You in Meditation
Picture in your mind a beautiful forest. This forest that you are picturing is your own creation, the creation of God within you. The same way that God created the world by the willpower, by the power of word, create this beautiful forest inside you. This forest will wear your name. And in this forest there is only peace and love. Each tree in this forest is your own reflection. This forest is your Self. This is the kingdom of the plant.

Black Jaguar [Teaches To Walk Without Fear]
Picture in the mind the animal you love most and you also may see many and varied animals. Be in the Superconscious. You are part of the creation of the animal kingdom; see yourself in all the animals you are creating. And there you are also present in the animal kingdom.


Himalayan Mountain
Picture yourself as being in a mighty mountain. You are also present in it. Each stone on it is your creation. See yourself as being the mountain. Create the whole sky with numerous stars. Each one of the shining stars is your Self.




Gurudev Swami Vishwananda
Picture yourself in any Divine form that you like very much, and say to this form, “There is no difference, you and I are one.” And listen to this inner conversation between the form you have created and your Self. Listen to it and you will see He is laughing because finally, you understand; finally, you have come to this point of knowing that you and I are one. You and the all, the whole of creation are One.

And finally, see the merging of all in your body. Perceive that whatever you have imagined, whatever you have created in the power of the mind is present in you. Your body is just light – pure consciousness of God. You are the Christ Consciousness, you are the Krishna Consciousness, and you are the Superconsciousness. Now, slowly open your eyes…

How was it, this small journey? Well, practice it! Keep reminding yourself that you are Divine. As you remind yourself of being human, you will be just human. It’s so simple, if you will simply always remind yourself of being love. Yes, we don’t really need to do big mantras, big japas as it’s just by reminding ourselves that we are love that we will be love. We will be in this world, but at the same time we will be Divine. When the awareness that you are Divine blossoms inside of you, there will be no fear, no doubt, only Divine Love!

Gurudev Swami Vishwananda Navaratri This Year -- Video and Information

Re-Visit
September Navaratri Video and Information


Excerpt of Sri Swami Vishwanandas reading about the fifth form of Divine mother of Navaratri called Skanda Mata and an interpretation of his.

During Navaratri, one invokes the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, referred to as "Durga" which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi" (goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. The Divine Mother goes by the name Kali, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Mother Mary and many other names.

Why Worship the Mother Goddess?: The mother is the creative aspect of the absolute. The creative life energy is a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children. "Why mother; why not father?" God's glory, his cosmic energy, his greatness and supremacy can best be depicted as the motherhood aspect of God. Just as a child finds all these qualities in his or her mother, similarly, many of us look upon God as mother.

For the full transcription of Swami Vishwanandas talk and for a DVD Navaratri 2009 set (available end of 2009):
Visit www.bhaktimarga.org. for more information
For Navaratri pictures visit our albums on Flickr.com:
(Click on the slideshow link up on the right hand side to view slideshow)
Gallery link to the first three days of Navaratri: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bhaktima...

Excerpt of Sri Swami Vishwanandas reading about the fifth form of Divine mother of Navaratri called Skanda Mata and an interpretation of his.During Navaratri, one invokes the energy aspect of God in the form of the universal mother, referred to as "Durga" which literally means the remover of miseries of life. She is also referred to as "Devi" (goddess) or "Shakti" (energy or power). It is this energy, which helps God to proceed with the work of creation, preservation and destruction. The Divine Mother goes by the name Kali, Durga, Lakshmi, Saraswati, Mother Mary and many other names.Why Worship the Mother Goddess?: The mother is the creative aspect of the absolute. The creative life energy is a form of the Divine Mother, who is the mother of all, and all of us are her children.

"Why mother; why not father?" God's glory, his cosmic energy, his greatness and supremacy can best be depicted as the motherhood aspect of God. Just as a child finds all these qualities in his or her mother, similarly, many of us look upon God as mother.

For the full transcription of Swami Vishwananda's talk and for a DVD Navaratri 2009 set (available end of 2009) visit http://www.bhaktimarga.org/. For Navaratri pictures visit our albums on Flickr.com: (click on the slideshow link up on the right hand side to view slideshow) Gallery link to the first three days of Navaratri: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bhaktima...

Solution To Self-Created Difficult Life

Diwali Lights Placed in Temple Windows
At Springen To Welcome Maha Lakshmi
Gurudev Swami Vishwananda gave Diwali Darshan last night at His Springen Spiritual Center on this year's lunar calendar day for the Diwali Festival of Lights. Next year’s Diwali 2010 date will fall within the lunar calendar on November 5. Gurudev gave a pre-Darshan talk relating to the necessity of controlling the mind of man on his way to enlightenment.

Swami said that man makes himself miserable and his life difficult unless he learns to control the mind. Conquering the mind is essential on the Bhakti Marga Path, the way of devotion to God and the Divine within, that Swami Vishwananda both follows and teaches
His devotees and disciples. After His talk, Swami Vishwananda guided everyone in a powerful meditation.

In late afternoon and before Darshan, a Lakshmi Puja was performed. Many petite oil lamps were lit and placed in the temple windows to welcome the Divine Mother Goddess,

Swami Vishwananda Celebrates Diwali in Springen

Diwali Festival of Lights: More at...
http://www.Virtual-Babaji-Vishwananda.blogspot.com
Across India people celebrate Diwali via symbolic diyas or kandils (colorful paper lanterns) as an integral part of Diwali decorations. Rangoli, decorations made from colored powder are also popular during Diwali.

While Diwali is popularly known as the "festival of lights", the most significant spiritual meaning is "the awareness of the inner light". Central to Sanatana Dharma is the assertion that there is something beyond the physical body and mind which is pure, infinite, and eternal, called the Atman [soul]. Just as we celebrate the birth of our physical being, Diwali is the celebration of this inner light, in particular the knowing of which outshines all darkness (removes all obstacles and dispels all ignorance), awakening the individual to one's true nature, not as the body, but as the unchanging, infinite, immanent and transcendent reality. With the realization of the Atman comes universal compassion, love, and the awareness of the oneness of all things (higher knowledge). This brings Ananda (inner joy or peace). More: http://www.virtual-babaji-vishwananda.blogspot.com/

Knowing Who You Are

Guru Dev Swami Vishwananda
Know that when you are close to the Divine, you transcend difficulties according to how much your mind is focused on the Divine or on your true Self. Everybody wants to attain this true Self but everybody wants to attain the true Self only by being good. You don’t need to be good; you don’t need to pretend to be good. You just need to be yourself. Even if people think that you are bad, you have to know who you are.

Hands of Light
Before a darshan, Swami Vishwananda told the following story: Once, a Rabbi gave a lecture to his students. The Rabbi quoted from his Bible: “The one who is close to the Divine, close to Yahweh [Christian name of God], is the one who smiles in the midst of difficulties.” Then his students stopped him and asked him, Reverend Sir, can you please explain to us how it is possible that we can smile in times of difficulties? The Rabbi told his students, “Well, it's very difficult to answer your question because when there are difficulties, I also forget to smile."

It’s true: our mind is so engrossed in negativity that we forget the reality. The Rabbi continued: “It’s very difficult for me to tell you how to smile in times of difficulties or in times of great tests. But I know one person in the village who has gone through many trials in his life. When he was just one week old, he lost his parents. Then later on in life he did not succeed in anything he did, but he was always very joyful and smiling.”

The students went to the house of the man in the village the Rabbi had told them about. The students knocked on the door and an answer came, “Who is it?” The students said, “We are students of the Rabbi and we have come to ask you certain questions.” The man replied, “Tell me; what questions do you have?” The students said, “We came across this line in the Bible that said, “The one, who is closest to God smiles in the midst of difficulties.” The man answered, “Well, you have come to the wrong address because I am 78 years old, yet I don’t know about difficulties, so I can’t tell you how to smile in them.”

In Times of Trouble, Let Love In

Swami Vishwananda Painting face of "Kali" during Navaratri 2009
When someone has trouble, he focuses so much on the trouble that he forgets about everything else. God is always with all His children, even in times of the biggest trouble. Even if the solution is there, man himself often doesn’t see it. The more you feed the trouble [think or worry about it], the more you feed the problem and it will grow. This [trouble] is your own creation and your own way of feeling it. And when it is finally too much you say, “Enough is enough!” Then you realize that you can’t change it by yourself. Then you turn to the Lord and say, “Here, I can’t deal with this anymore; handle it for me.” Of course, do you think He will not come to your rescue? Directly you will have the solution, and you will realize how easy it was. Then you will say to yourself, “Oh, if I knew it earlier, I would have changed it.” How many times has this happened in your life?

Therefore, when many troubles and many things come along the way, try to analyze things before making any casual decision. Try to do it with a calm mind, and not an excited mind, because when your mind is excited it’s already very hot, and you will not see anything clearly. You know this, yes? So, always remember the Divine love, the Divine help, the Divinity, ultimately, that is within yourself. You are an instrument of this love, an instrument of this joy and bliss and happiness. You have to reflect it, and if you to want to reflect it, you have to really want that reflection.

Swami Vishwananda Chanting "Bhavani Akastam"

With beautiful fall weather and the foliage just beginning to change colors at His Springen Spiritual Center, Swami Vishwananda celebrated Navaratri with His devotees through music, talks, chants, rituals, dances, pujas and yagnas. Gurudev poured out blessings on His devotees and gave endlessly of His time, knowledge and love during the Nine September Days and Nights of Navaratri 2009. Guru Dev chanted with His devotees a beautiful devotional prayer composed by Adi Shankaracharya, Bhavani Akastam. He told us that Adi Shankaracharya wrote the prayer for upliftment of his devotees while in a high state of devotion and Divine Bliss. When Adi Shankaracharya prayed the prayer to the Divine Mother, tears streamed from her eyes.

Following Video of Swami Vishwananda Chanting
Bhavani Akastam

When Life Becomes Boring - Look to God

Divine Mother
How lucky it is for a disciple or a student to have a teacher in the life. In the Hindu tradition we consider the Guru even higher than the Mother and the Father. We can say, “No” to the Mother and we can say, “No” to the Father for something that we don’t want. But when the Guru says something, we don’t say, “No” to him even if it is not to our own perception of how it should be. We like things to be our own way. Don’t forget that on the spiritual path you face towards the opposite of yourself so that you can learn to transcend.

Swami Vishwananda
The question will arise, “Where do I find my teacher?” The teacher may be found here, inside of you; He is not far away. When you feel deep inside of you, “That person is my teacher and he can help me to attain the Divine,” then give yourself completely to that person, that teacher. Of course here in the West we understand it in a different way, because we like to say. “Yes I want to follow this way, but that is also good.” Well, all the ways are good. You are free to do whatever you want. But if you go to a mathematics school or a mathematic tutorial, you will not expect the mathematics teacher to teach you French. So you can’t expect the spiritual teacher to teach you something else.

Such is life. When the soul yearns for the Divine, then the Divine comes. In the Gita Krishna said, “Not everybody can attain me, but they can come to me through help. I will come to them in the form of a teacher. And through that they will attain me.” This is how life is. We reincarnate ourselves, but then life becomes so boring that we don’t know where to go. Then we turn towards God and say, “Help.” God is always merciful. He always comes. When you call sincerely, He will always respond.

We Came To Bear Witness of the Light

Swami Vishwananda In Chapel at Springen
John The Baptist gave testimony of Jesus Christ: I am not that light; I came to bear witness of that light. The same is true for all of us. We are here to realize ourselves as we really are [to bear witness to our soul light within]. Jesus came, but yet people were against him. He came to His own people and most did not recognize Him.

It is said: *“None is a prophet in his own land.” Spiritual teachers are truly and actually recognized after their time. A few only appreciate the spiritual teacher when he is with them. Then after the teacher has passed on, they say: “Oh how wonderful it would have been if we were there.” You see in writings that whatever is written about a teacher after he is gone is most always good. And of course, then everybody wants to be in that time when the teacher was living on Earth. And a few only want to be around when he is alive. And it is always like that. Then 10 years or 20 years after the teacher is gone, people say: “Oh how wonderful it would have been if we had been there with the teacher!” This is how the mind of man functions.

John the Baptist
If you have the chance to be with a teacher when he is embodied, just take the chance to be there. Then one day you will not have to say: “Oh, why was I not with the teacher when He was on Earth and I had that magnificent chance?

*Matthew 13:57: A prophet is not without honor, save in his own Country and in his own Home.

Master Teacher at Fourteen

At the beginning of 1991, and for many months, I included in my daily prayers, Oh Lord I wish to find the Master of Masters, but he must be younger than sixteen years old. So I prayed fervently month after month. After an experience at the entrance of an ashram in South India in the year 1992, I realized my request was granted. It is as vivid in my mind today as if it had just happened. I will never forget that awesome experience.

I was standing in the entrance gate of a large ashram in Southern India, contemplative and peaceful. Three ladies rushed through the entrance with a small boy between them. He looked into my eyes and smiled at me. I felt this surge of energy sweep through my body. My head felt like it was on fire and my heart was racing. I was visibly moved and I never forgot that incident.

Six years later in 1998, I saw this special boy again and learned his name, Swami Vishwananda! Quite soon thereafter we became friends. Once after many years, I asked him, “Swami, how old were you when we met for the first time at that ashram in South India?” He smilingly replied, “Fourteen years old!”
—Urs Keller - Switzerland

Swami Vishwananda tells you today,

We refer death so much to the body, but the consciousness has the power of God to create a new body at will. You can see it in the lives of Saints, that even being dead, when they appeared to somebody who was praying to them, they appeared in body and flesh. Death is something that nobody can escape. We all know about death, but we don’t want to see it, we don’t want to believe in it. When we believe in it, we see the most terrible and terrifying part of it, but we don’t see the beautiful part of it. We don’t see this bridge, when the Beloved calls you and says “Come, Cross over that bridge and attain me.” So it’s not terrifying at all. Like St. Francis said; at the time of his death “Welcome sister death”. That put death to a shock, because you take away all the power of fear and create this great joy. This great joy that you are moving towards the higher plane, you are moving towards your Beloved (God).